Hey guys, I don't own an LT1 car yet. I'm merely test driving a bunch to determine which one I want to go with. A couple weeks ago I test drove a 6spd vert T/A. Some of you may remember, if not no big deal. I asked a bunch of questions and got the answers I needed. The vert was sold to someone else.

Anyway, yesterday I test drove a good condition but high mileaged auto/2.73 T/A. Mileage was around 100k. Performance was great despite the auto/2.73 and I would be happy getting it. The speedo just swept across even going up the on ramp of a freeway on the test drive. The car was silver and I felt like I was flying an F14 with the silver wing in the rearview. HAHAHAHA!!

Anyway, here are some questions I have about this car.

1) exhaust note sounded a little rough. Kind of had a tick-tick noise to it. How can I determine what this sound is? Bad lifter or something? Would this be a bad thing? It's definately not a rod knock, and this motor runs very strong.

2) For those that still have the 2.73s, what times are you guys running? I'd go to 3.42's later on.

3) What stall torque converter should I look for? People say to get an S10 converter from autozone. They say they have a 22-2600 stall that works good and is like $150 or so. IS this true? How hard is the install in terms of hours under the car? I'm fairly good at mechanical stuff and have tools.

4) Cutout, is a cutout equally good for manual and automatic cars? I forget where I heard this but someone said that a cutout can mess with automatic cars shift points...in a bad way? Is this true?

5) Is 100k too many miles? I really like the silver color and everything on the car is in really good condition. I feel that even in 30k miles if the engine were to go to LT1 heaven, that I would be able to install a lower mileage motor. The previous owner took care of it and the dealership's detail job really shows that off.


Sorry for yet another long post of questions and useless thoughts, but I appreciate your guys knowledge.

-Thanks!!

 

It's coming from the exhaust? Possibly exhaust leak... that can cause ticking.

I wouldn't bother with anything less than 3.73's, but 3.42's would be a good improvement.

Don't listen to that using an S10 converter BS, terrible idea.

Cutout has nothing to do with an automatic's shift points. Nothing wrong with using it in either setup.

Gonna be hard to find an LT1 these days with less mileage than that, shouldn't be a problem for a bolt-on car.. I wouldn't go sticking a big cam in a high mileage shortblock though.

 

My car is a 2.73 A4 car, it's a Formula not a T/A but they are similar enough...
This depends on the tick your getting, my car has had a tick for a long time but hasn't been a big issue. But again it depends on what the cause is. Mine is a lifter that only taps when cold, I think it is only one and it almost seems like it pumps down if there is pressure on it after shutdown adn takes a little time to pump back up.
Check out my sig, I just put in 3.73's and need to wait for the local tracks to open to see how it does and I am hopeing for low 12's.
Don't go for a cheep way out for the converter, the S10 converter may or may not bolt up right, but will not be effective for your car. wait and spend the money for a good converter and you will see much better gains that way.
A cutout was one of the first things I did, I have dyno results of with it open and with it closed. There are no negative effects on the tranny or shift points, definitly do it...
If the price is right then it is a good deal for the milage, there are guys running much higher milage and are just starting to hit their LT1 with N2O and other things without issue. But remember not all issues come from the motor, the tranny, rear, and other support components are also now over 10 years old too. Just a thought for you, but on a good note, if the opti made it this far and is still pulling strong as you stated in the begining of this then it should still last a while till you get into some bigger mods...

 

I got my car with 98,000 on it... it now sitts at 134,000 and i just dropped 4 grand in mods on just the motor.. Mine started a 2.73 car, i went to 3.73's.. thing runs perfect.. Like every one else is saying, don't go with that converter.. good luck witht the car..

 

Thanks guys.

Hey John, I looked at your sig. Impressive, but is 105mph correct? No offense whatsoever. Is that because of the stock 2.73 gears why your trap is so low?

And the ticking, was only on startup and it wasn't like an exhaust leak I ever heard. Do LT1's lifters tick when cold?

 

Okay the guy is asking $8500 which is almost $1000 over excellent condition according to KBB. Excellent is $7600, good is $7000, and fair is $6200.

1 peice of the dash has a crack in it, it's the big peice. The little cigarette butt trash door is broken. And the headliner is hanging off above the rearview mirror. And the seat controls aren't tight against the seat, but sticking out 1/2-3/4 inch. The only problem on the outside is the nose of the car is starting to oxidize. Not horrible at all, but you can tell the milky discoloration. That is it. Maybe $400 in cosmetic repairs.

Do you think $7000 is reasonable? Or is that even too much? I mean he is asking almost $1000 over KBB excellent for a KBB good car.

 

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...g=1&cardist=19

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...g=1&cardist=20

Why does everyone go straight to 3.73's and leave the stall stock. 2.73's and a 3000 stall is a great combo

 

So is 3.73's and a 3200 stall. I didn't say anything about leaving the stall stock.

Even better is 4.11's and a 3800 stall.

 

Didn't mean you javier. I just see a lot of guys go with gears and leave the stock stall.

 

in regards to going with gears and stall, to tell you the truth my bro's old 94z with full bolt on's and no stall felt way faster than my full bolt-on stalled auto w/3.73's. his car ran like a raped ape, and could easily go sideways from a roll. i punched it going 40mph racing a friend and i ended up with the front end in the left lane and the rear in the right lane, pretty damn scary too. IMO dont go with a stall unless you go to track a lot, like Javier said go with gears and a big stall...hang on cuz a big stall hits hard on a sticky tire when you drop the hammer.

 

With a big stall and big gears/sticky tires you better not hit it too hard or that rear end is going to blow.

 

i got my camaro for 7,000 with 62k on the clock. I know prices vary in different areas but see if he'll work with you

 

Those are nice, but I'm a Trans Am lover.


I'm looking at a Red '96 6spd WS6 Trans Am next.

 

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...ce=&cardist=20

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...ice=&cardist=6

They're all over the valley

 

LOL!!! This is funny, that Silver one is the one this thread is about!!! It's really nice. It's 7 miles north of where I live. I drove it yesterday.

The red one at Van Chevrolet is the one I'm checking out in 1 hour.

I've checked out a few already listed in Autotrader and Cars.com.



**Edit, the one at Van Chevrolet is a hardtop. No longer interested.**